Honor Corps

[perc2100]

My question, I guess would be:

Was this venture one that DCI should've been involved in? Did this venture really benefit DCI or it's corps?

Again, I keep thinking about the All-Star and Honor corps of the 80's and 90's. My wife marched soprano in the Macy's All-Star corps in 1991, and here is her experience:

DCI, her corps, and sponsors paid for EVERYTHING! A bus picked her up, paid for meals, housed them, and took them on tourist type stuff in NY (for one, they went to the Rockette's Christmas show opening night). Her corps even gave her spending money. The only thing she paid for out of her pocket was souvenirs, and the group picture.

The corps got GREAT coverage (I guess the sheer volume blew out several mics), and DCI got great press (Williard Scott and the rest of the cast kept raving about how great they sounded). She met tons of new friends from other corps (I think several hundred members participated), had a lot of fun, etc. Not only was it a fun weekend, but it was a great performance opportunity and exposure to the activity.

I've heard similar stories from other people who were in similar All-Star and Honor Corps in bowl parades and Macy's. These experiences seem win-win for all involved.

The Disney parade sounds like it was a fun time, but that's all that was gained by the experience. Should DCI have maybe researched this better to ensure it was a good opportunity to promote the activity and corps (which, IMO, is the primary responsibility for performances like this)? If DCI had no say in amount of coverage time, AND asked members involved to pay their own way, all in the hopes that everything would come out OK in the end, should they have done this in the first place?

I honestly don't know. I do know if I was a member who paid all that money, or a parent, and the fruit of my investment was "it was a lot of fun" while the performance garnered a home-made video presentaion on DCI's website, and an 8 second showing on ABC, I would not be happy.

Just a thought.

I'd like to point out that the only reason why people seem to be upset is because we are proud of our participants, and the way they represent our activity. Many of those members gave up tons of time and money to ensure that they well represented the drum and bugle corps activity. It seems a lot of the complaints have to do with a huge missed opportunity, and that at the very least DCI was possibly taken advantage of (kids paying for everything, putting in hours to rehearse and record for an 8 second mention). We all know what those kids are capable of, and it's too bad the rest of the world who doesn't know drum corps from squat won't.

--

doug

[MarimbasaurusRex]

And a good Disney lawyer would ask..."what's the difference between the way Disney used these

kids for free labor and the way DCI used the same kids all season long for free labor?"

Same argument could and has been used for college sports...but at least they're getting a

free education.

DCI is a non-profit member organization (see hobby). Colleges are non-profit educational institutions. Disney is a profit making commerical enterprise with revenues in the billions. Huge difference.

[E-Daddy]

Let's put the cost of this fun weekend in perspective. At approximately $600 for someone who had to fly to get there (most of the kids) and put up the cost of a room and the admissions to the park (which we had no choice in), this represents somewhere between 33-50% of their next year's tour fees for many corps, depending on where you may march. Knowing now what I didn't know a few months ago, I'm not so sure I would have paid up to half a year's fees for 4 days of fun, excitement, bonding with kids from other corps, etc.

I certainly don't blame DCI, the corps, or the kids - maybe in our excitement to showcase the activity we've all come to love and share it with others, we got a little overzealous.

We (and I mean all of us - DCI, the corps, the kids and the parents) need to be more cautious in the future and spend our resources where they do each of us individually the best.

And once again, SHAME on ABC and Disney for taking such advantage of the situation and our zest to share our passions with the world.

[Dinger01]

I'd like to offer an opinion as one of those "friends" who paid money to support our son's passion for Drum Corps. Disney's air time and edit of the Christmas parade was really no different than the entire weekend. Every aspect of what these Corp Members got to do was managed by Disney to the enth degree.... from rehearsal to performance; it was Drum Corps as well all know it. Not always pretty, usually very stressful and always requires a Go with the flow/follow the leader mental. Yes there was 3-4 hours here or there to visit the parks, usually at odd times and in places where they had to report back to a given area thereby greatly limiting their ability to go to another park. From no photos, cell phones, or video in the back lot practice area to "DCI Friends Viewing areas" the entire experience left a very foul taste in ones mouth. It wasn't the kind of opportunity most people would plunk down their money for.

Did DCI get suckered? Probably, but then again they did get a Golden Mickey (check out the Season's Pass clip if you don't know what that is). The Corp members did get to watch a Great Show (Fireworks theatrical show at the MGM) from a very nice staging area at the very top of the seating area, complete with all the sweets you could tolerate. Everyone had the chance, whether taken or not to meet other DRUM CORPS participants and fans and share their common bond/love for the activity. Granted most of them will not know more than a handful of names come next summer, but believe me everyone of them learned they all endure the same type of experience no matter what the corps name, colors or philosophy. When they see these new friends this summer they will know they shared an experience everyone posting here can never understand.....the opportunity to perform with 98 other members who all WANTED TO BE THERE AND DOING WHAT THEY WERE DOING. What was that you ask? They were playing music or spinning flags with others who love doing it as much as they do and no matter what the outcome (face time or high accolades from friends and fans) they enjoy doing just that- playing their horn, beating their drums and spinning their flags with others who also WANT to do that the best they possibly can.

When I asked the corps members I knew if they would do it again - to a person they all said yes. When asked why- the common response was - because we got to play with the best. Even if one doubts that statement, you can't doubt the sincerity of these guys and gals who bust their hump for ten months in pursuit of excellence. Most will never know fame. But they all will know the exhilaration that follows performing in front of people who adore what they do. Now I ask, can Disney or DCI take that away? What is the price of that/those experiences?

I do LOL for at the Disney Informercial displayed as a Christmas Parade. Those of you who realized that get the Gold Mickey! Just plunk down your cash and head to the nearest theme park, cruise or store.

[leadsoplove]

-From an honor corps member:

I was incredibly disappointed, and I personally would NOT spend the money to do that again. I do not regret in any way the money I spent or the time I gave up, but it was without doubt a learning experience. I know that Dan Acheson could not have anticipated this coverage issue, especially since Disney mandated the song that we play and that the last set of our parade drill be a Christmas Tree. I sure didn't see any shot of that very tree that they wanted so badly, and I am truly disgusted with the whole thing. That was without doubt the worst parade I have ever seen, and Disney taped for weeks to get that footage. I actually felt like apologizing to everyone I asked to watch the parade to see me perform. I thought that since I was front and center right before we began the drill that there would be ONE shot of me, ironically I think Disney managed to show 7.5 seconds of us and not actually SHOW anyone. It's true, we were free entertainment for the multi-billion dollar Disney corporation.

(&@$^($^@)#%B#%(*^!!!!!! <**>

[Dinger01]

-From an honor corps member:

I was incredibly disappointed, and I personally would NOT spend the money to do that again. I do not regret in any way the money I spent or the time I gave up, but it was without doubt a learning experience. I know that Dan Acheson could not have anticipated this coverage issue, especially since Disney mandated the song that we play and that the last set of our parade drill be a Christmas Tree. I sure didn't see any shot of that very tree that they wanted so badly, and I am truly disgusted with the whole thing. That was without doubt the worst parade I have ever seen, and Disney taped for weeks to get that footage. I actually felt like apologizing to everyone I asked to watch the parade to see me perform. I thought that since I was front and center right before we began the drill that there would be ONE shot of me, ironically I think Disney managed to show 7.5 seconds of us and not actually SHOW anyone. It's true, we were free entertainment for the multi-billion dollar Disney corporation.

(&@$^($^@)#%B#%(*^!!!!!! <**>

Your remarks are demonstrative of my point. Your first sentence is followed immediately by the contradictory second. Obviously you got something out of the opportunity or you would regret the money that you spent. Did you also dislike spending a Drum Corp weekend with talented members from other Corps, in Sunny Florida or here' the kicker- in a hotel room verses a gym floor? Yes those activities were/are a whole lot cheaper in your Corp. How about the parade (how much drill does your Corp perform for parades?). Here's another question - when was the last time you did all of that with the expectation of being filmed immediately after two days of rehearsal- after having music for what- a week and drill for 24 hours?

You are entitled to feeling disappointed in spending so much money for one very short weekend. P.O'd is also acceptable. But you do have bragging rights - I was in the DCI Honor Corp that appeared for 12 1/2 seconds of Disney's Very Merry Christmas Parade. As for the parade itself and the lack of TV Air time- come on now- outside of your tour video how much FACE time do you get on the National Broadcast from finals? When was the last time your Corp's entire program was broadcast to the masses in an uncut unedited format by DCI?

BTW I am not a Disney employee. I am a friend who spent your sum four times which makes the joke four times funnier. Believe me I would not spend that money again- I am not a participant in the activity and don't particularly enjoy the Disney Magic - crowds, overpriced - everything, and my favorite NEW discovery double wide strollers and motorized adult chairs. It truly was a magical weekend.

[WrillyMello]

Yeah here I am making my family wait before presents that we have to watch DCI Honor Corps on TV, and they were on there for 5 seconds. My dad's comment *Wow, they were really rocking...is that all they're gonna show?*

My mom was mad it wasn't live after I told her how the color guard had to do over 1000 drop spins while Regis and Kelly did their thing.

I was disappointed. ####.

I beleive it came out to something around 1536 drop spins. One of the girls counted the whole time...and did anyone mention that it was with completely unweighted poles?

I didn't get to see it. I assume there were marching bands in the parade.

Did they get more air time? If so, I have to wonder....why?

This college band that was on after us was on for about 20-30 seconds at least. I think the only reason why they got 3 times as much tv time as us is because they were over 3 times as large as us numbers wise.

Dan Acheson told the members that a total of 250 invites were sent out, and about 115 people showed up.

Yeah yeah, great memories/bonding....it happened, and its the salvation of the weekend for the members, seeing as how the coverage on ABC was a joke. But for what it cost me, I could nearly do a complete tour w/ most div 2/3 corps, instead of 3 nights in an overpriced theme park.

Don't get me wrong, I had a great time meeting people and hanging w/ my corps buds....also got to put on the super suit one last time, however the effort that was put into the show design by the staff, the hassle that the ABC/Disney gave the corps staff over the repertoire and the effort put out by the staff and members for the performance was incredible overkill for 6 seconds of TV time.

If we weren't going to be on TV, the ABC/Disney people shouldn't have wasted 30 minutes with us at the parade starting line getting the block set at just the right point so the whole routine could fit within the cameras range.

They also shouldn't have had us do 2 takes.

They also shouldn't have spent time and money doing TV promos about the corps (other than to appease DCI, I imagine) for 6 seconds.

They also shouldn't have been so indecisive about the show repertoire by changing the performance song 3 times, giving the music arrangers and guard choreographers a huge stress induced headache caused by having to meet unfair deadlines. (This also hurt the performance as it greatly delayed the music/guard work being released to the members)

You can say all you want about how it should be about the fun time the members got to have, and I'll never disagree that thats not important. But thats only half the reason for even being there in my opinion.

I give nothing but praise to the DCI staff for being far more on the ball with this project than ABC or Disney could have dreamed to be. It really shows me just how much better corps people are at sticking to their word, accomplishing the task no matter what, and being professionals no matter the circumstance.

I wish people outside of the drumcorps world could be such.

ZSD,

A PO'd honor corps member and son of a PO'd parent.

Well, although I can't say I'm as upset as you are, you do provide some very good statements that I can relate to.

My suggestion: Fix a camera on one spot in these parades and get rid of the announcers. Let the camera pick up the parade as if it were a fan watching from the side. (Or a bird's eye view in this case) That way you get to watch just the parade. As far as commercials go, I haven't thought about how to deal with them yet :P

It seemed like there were at least 6-8 cameras filming just us for both runs. 4 of them were on either side of the street (2 each) and then there was the boom and one directly in front of us that I know of forsure. I think that's why I'm so dissapointed with the coverage. It's not even about the fact that you don't really get to see anyone up close. I would have been happy with any shots, as long as it showed the majority of the routine.

Your remarks are demonstrative of my point. Your first sentence is followed immediately by the contradictory second. Obviously you got something out of the opportunity or you would regret the money that you spent. Did you also dislike spending a Drum Corp weekend with talented members from other Corps, in Sunny Florida or here' the kicker- in a hotel room verses a gym floor? Yes those activities were/are a whole lot cheaper in your Corp. How about the parade (how much drill does your Corp perform for parades?). Here's another question - when was the last time you did all of that with the expectation of being filmed immediately after two days of rehearsal- after having music for what- a week and drill for 24 hours?

Yeah it was 'Sunny Florida' however just because it was sunny doesn't mean that it was hot. Also, I would have given up my hotel room for a gym floor in an instant! Being seperated into our hotel rooms just took away from the sense of family that everyone living in one large space brings. Some of my best corps memories are in the gym at lights out.

All I can say is Thank You to DCI for setting up this opportunity for us even if it didn't go as well as everyone thought it would. I still had a great time and provided it wouldn't cost nearly as much if at all in the future, I would do it again in a heartbeat.

[leadsoplove]

Your remarks are demonstrative of my point. Your first sentence is followed immediately by the contradictory second. Obviously you got something out of the opportunity or you would regret the money that you spent. Did you also dislike spending a Drum Corp weekend with talented members from other Corps, in Sunny Florida or here' the kicker- in a hotel room verses a gym floor? Yes those activities were/are a whole lot cheaper in your Corp. How about the parade (how much drill does your Corp perform for parades?). Here's another question - when was the last time you did all of that with the expectation of being filmed immediately after two days of rehearsal- after having music for what- a week and drill for 24 hours?

You are entitled to feeling disappointed in spending so much money for one very short weekend. P.O'd is also acceptable. But you do have bragging rights - I was in the DCI Honor Corp that appeared for 12 1/2 seconds of Disney's Very Merry Christmas Parade. As for the parade itself and the lack of TV Air time- come on now- outside of your tour video how much FACE time do you get on the National Broadcast from finals? When was the last time your Corp's entire program was broadcast to the masses in an uncut unedited format by DCI?

BTW I am not a Disney employee. I am a friend who spent your sum four times which makes the joke four times funnier. Believe me I would not spend that money again- I am not a participant in the activity and don't particularly enjoy the Disney Magic - crowds, overpriced - everything, and my favorite NEW discovery double wide strollers and motorized adult chairs. It truly was a magical weekend.

-I don't think that my second sentence contradicts my first at all. I wouldn't do it again (once is enough, if the end product - the parade- was typical of what we would see in the future), and I WAS incredibly disappointed... but I don't regret it. Can a person not feel all that at the same time? Sure I took something from the experience... I did say that it was a learning one, did I not? And the difference between being upset with the airing of this performance and not getting any facetime in a DCI performance is huge. Most of us came specifically because we would be representing DCI in a national broadcast... I don't march every summer to get any more face time than I would get playing a solo at each show. And I have to agree with my fellow Honor Corps member; the beds weren't all that fantastic and I am lucky that I could share one with a corpsmate. As little modesty as we all might have, it probably would have been a litte unnerving to share a bed with a guy you just met, and if you chose not to, you'd be on a floor anyway. I also would have welcomed a gym floor with open arms, I have been sleeping in a bed ever since I got home in August. Also, with the way my corps works with me financially (-$100 for every season I have marched, -$100 for everyone I recruit), I will probably end up paying LESS out of my own pocket for the 2006 season than I did for the Disney experience. And to address the question about drill: I have indeed done some pretty crazy drill during especially long parades (i.e. Mardi Gras: 6, 8, and 4 miles respectively) and although I haven't been expected to perform an entire package like we did in such a short amount of time, it isn't much different than having the last few sets of the show rewritten and performed either the next day or even that same one. Just setting the record straight.

[gohorns]

My suggestion: Fix a camera on one spot in these parades and get rid of the announcers. Let the camera pick up the parade as if it were a fan watching from the side. (Or a bird's eye view in this case) That way you get to watch just the parade. As far as commercials go, I haven't thought about how to deal with them yet

I agree and I think that HGTV has come the closest to this with their coverage of the Rose Parade. It is shown without commercials and you get to see all of the floats and all of the bands that participate. The announcers talk a lot but it is mainly about the floats and when they do talk during bands you can still hear them playing in the background. It is probably the only parade I enjoy watching on TV.

[SDBassCreature]

I agree and I think that HGTV has come the closest to this with their coverage of the Rose Parade. It is shown without commercials and you get to see all of the floats and all of the bands that participate. The announcers talk a lot but it is mainly about the floats and when they do talk during bands you can still hear them playing in the background. It is probably the only parade I enjoy watching on TV.

The only problem with the Disney parade is that it isn't constant. They have a "filming area" and no one can play on the parade route until they get to this "filming area." I agree completely though, it should be a constant parade with fixed camera angles.